Sleeping Beauty and the Beast
by bunyipbabe
Summary: Inuyasha accidentally awakens his cursed brother with a kiss, and is forced into becoming his alpha mate - something neither of them are happy about. Will they learn to live with the curse that binds them together- and each other -and not fall in love?
1. prologue The Curse of the Sleeping Dog

Sleeping Beauty and the Beast

**A fic by Bunyipbabe starring our two favourite Inu-Youkai!**

Summary: Sesshoumaru is put under a sleeping-beauty-like curse by his wannabe mate, eagle-demon Katsuro, and can only be awakened with a kiss. Whoever kisses him will be bound to be his dominant mate forever, or, at least until the curse is removed. But Katsuro loses track of the lord, and it's Inuyasha who awakens him, unknowing what will happen. And now the two must work together to find Katsuro and force him to dispel the curse- or else be forced to love each other forever, something neither wants to do…

**Rating: I'm keeping it a T, guys. I know there's some mention of naughty stuff, but it's not much, and in my opinion, my tender fic isn't worthy of being rated a full-blown porno… just yet, anyways ;).**

**However, despite the fact that the rating will not change unless I actually get complaints, there **_**will **_**be a couple of hard Yaoi Inu/Sessh chapters, **_**WHICH I SHALL MARK AND WHICH ARE **__**OPTIONAL**__** TO READ!!!**_** It's a technique I saw another author use (Penguin-sama, FYI) in a Yu Yu Hakusho fic, and I hope it'll stop people's young virgin eyes being burned… So don't read the Optionals if you don't like the hard stuff… which I promise you it will be.**

Disclaimer and acclaimer: I could make a wish at 11:11 every single day for a week, pray to the Goddess on Full Moon or just go and beg Rumiko Takahashi in person, but whatever I try, sadly I will never own Inuyasha. However, I do own any other characters not known to the series that appear in this, and they are for my use and my use alone… Kidokes?

**Please enjoy Sleeping Beauty and the Beast, it's the first Inuyasha fic I've written, and I want lots of reviews and feedback please!!!**

Prologue: The Curse of The Sleeping Dog Demon

It was a bright, fragile spring morning in Feudal Japan, with the returning of the birds from the south bringing sweet music to the pointed, elfin ear, and the newly blooming flowers carrying their sweet aroma to the delicate nose.

And Sesshoumaru himself, tall, slender and effeminate with his beautiful face and long mantle of silver hair that was always just as oh-so-perfect as the rest of him despite living as roughly as did his permanently dirty and scruffy younger sibling, was happy.

Not that he'd admit to it, of course. He had a reputation to uphold in the lands of the Inu after all, lands once ruled by his late great father, and now ruled by himself. A reputation of being a cold and merciless killer who would never submit to anyone.

So he couldn't show his happiness in the usual way, which was currently being exemplified by his sweet adoptive daughter Rin, and involved lots of skipping and smiling and singing about such delightful things as little fluffy woodland creatures and how wet Ah-Un's nose was and feeling _just _how bony Kohaku's elbows really were (Sesshoumaru did not quite understand the relevance of this one to Rin's happiness, but it made her laugh and so he permitted it, despite the obvious lack of a young lady's proper conduct) and even the occasional bopping of that toadying kappa Jaken's head with a very hard object (he understood the relevance of _this _one very much…).

No, Sesshoumaru no Taishou, young Lord of the West, was forced to show his happiness in a different way.

He gracefully turned 180 degrees into the rush of fresh wind, pivoting quickly on his toes like a dancer, and inhaled, mentally checking through the huge variety of scents that immediately bombarded the most prominent of his five senses for any sign of danger, and pleased to discover that there was not any. Which, in turn, meant he could leave Rin here with Jaken and Kohaku to play peacefully – they were barely a quater-mile from the village anyway, and his said dirty and scruffy otouto* would come running to the rescue immediately if there _was_ any trouble after all – and go and find some peace and quiet of his own.

For however sweet his Rin's tuneful little ditty was, hearing anything on that child's permanent repeat for long enough was enough to grate the nerves (and supersensitive ears) of even the most cold and stoic Taiyoukai*…

And so, with some curt words to his wards –

"Rin, stay with Jaken and Kohaku. I will return shortly,"

The great Demon Lord set out on his own journey.

And despite being so worried for the well-being of his precious children, and even, to a certain extent, his ugly henchman, it never once occurred to Sesshoumaru to think that perhaps, for once, it would be him who was in danger and not one of his pack.

//

It was nearing the afternoon when Sesshoumaru finally reached his destination. The Clear Blue Sky (A.N. – Gakuen Alice reference to all those similar crazed fangirls out there… yeah, just ignore all of my little ramblings. They do not contribute to the tale in any way shape or form, I just shove them in 'cause I get bored.) typical of early spring still held true, although it was now tinged with the most delicate of rosy pinks where the glowing orb of the distant sun had just begun to dip its majestic head below the far off mountainous horizon.

He had been running at a steady pace, barely more than a jog for a demon of his high rank and calibre, although to any lucky human who had the honour of watching him pass he was travelling faster than even the swiftest of their war horses ever could. Despite this, it had still taken him a good hour to finally come to the beautiful small pool, hidden artfully in the centre of a forest impenetrably thick to all but those who knew its hidden ways.

The peace of the area always astounded him- he knew of nowhere else in his world where the lack of noise was so stunning, so absolute, and for a creature such as himself with an excellent sense of hearing, silence really was truly golden. No birds sang here, no beasts called to one another, although the area was not dead, far from it!

Flowers and fungi grew in lush abandon, clinging to the thick trunks of the swooping trees that created an artificial shelter above the top of the pool, and yet still left it open enough for light and fresh air to filter through. It was more as if the animals of the surrounding forests simply respected the fact that Sesshoumaru had come here for peace, a peace he could find nowhere else, and so decided to leave him to his own whims and practice their songs elsewhere.

Sesshoumaru let out a soft breath of air from his lungs, and began untying the complex knot of his obi. For Inuyoukai* such as himself, cleanliness was a virtue, as, after all, they did have extremely good senses of smell. One didn't need their own stench adding to the general vile bodily odours so common in those around them, this was a fact he understood very well, although it was obvious Inuyasha had a much harder time getting used to the idea that a bath a day kept the bad smells away. No wonder he had never been able to sniff out that bastard Naraku until it was too late- his senses had been compromised by his own foul excretions.

Sesshoumaru couldn't help himself- as the image of the sadistic Kumo held itself in his mind, a shudder rippled across the finely toned muscle of his porcelain-pale bare chest. (A.N.- a little fan service, enjoy it, XD. I'm not describing his body too much like Edward Cullens, am I? God, I hate twilight…) That damn spider… after what he'd _done _to him, a powerful Demon Lord, ruler of the entirety of western feudal Japan… And Sesshoumaru hadn't been able to fight him off, hadn't been able to stop him…

"No. Don't think of that. Don't think of that bastard, he's not here, Inuyasha killed him, remember? Inuyasha and his little Miko girl. Naraku's never going to come back, he's never going to touch you again."

For once, the growling voice of the inner-Youkai* trapped deep within his heart was most definitely welcome. Sesshoumaru nodded to himself, pushing thoughts of the Kumo and those sickeningly cold hands roaming his body away, got rid of the last of his silky clothing and stepped gratefully into the cool waters of the bath.

//

Half an hour later, and circling too high in the sky for his scent to be carried down to the dozing Taiyoukai, a young Eagle Demon let his narrow deep-violet eyes wander shamelessly across the beautiful half-submerged form far below him, as usual thanking whatever Kami* made him for giving him such good eyesight. (A.N.- Hee hee, Katsuro's a closet pervert XD)

Beautiful…

Yes, it was the only correct word that could be used to describe Sesshoumaru. And Katsuro, Demon Prince and ruler of the Southern lands, wanted all of that beauty for himself!

And when stubborn, proud and handsome Katsuro wanted something, stubborn proud and handsome Katsuro got it.

He circled lower, flexing his large wings slightly, and readying the incantation he had practiced to heart in the forefront of his mind.

//

Sesshoumaru had drifted into a cozy semi-slumber in the water. In truth, Demons of his rank did not need to sleep at all, and he himself rarely subjected himself to the dangerous nothingness of unawareness. But he had to admit to a strange enjoyment of the drifting, floaty sensation of being suspended somewhere between this world and that of his dreams, which were often less than pleasant.

And so, cocooned in the false sense of safety erected by the walls of foliage around him, he let his mind wander to thoughts far away, and his golden eyes drift gently shut.

And not once did he notice the eagle demon, in the form of a winged and ruggedly handsome man near his own age, with strong muscles and long black hair tied back in a simple plait that whipped about behind him as he flew, closer, closer…

"Dul chun codlata, mo áilleacht, do gach eternity, go dtí go wakened ag an póg an saol!*"

It was only as he heard a voice raised loud in the language of spellcasting that he realised his terrible mistake of letting down his usually so impenetrable guard, and his eyes snapped open immediately to see a familiar, and very unwelcome face looming over his own.

"Katsuro!" he hissed, jumping to his feet with a lithe, cat-like spring.

He nearly made it, as well.

For it was just then that the curse was completed, the sheer force of it enough to knock him back a pace as the shaft of magic impaled his body and his limbs suddenly became as heavy as lead. Unable to help himself, Sesshoumaru crashed back down into the water that had once so dutifully suspended his light body with a smattering of rainbow-like droplets that sung through the air, and, to his horror, began to sink, too surprised by the loss of muscle usage in his limbs to even stay afloat. His Youkai's perpetually annoying voice echoed in his mind, mimicking his own thoughts.

"_What the hell kind of a curse is this? I feel… so tired…"_

But strong arms were wrapping themselves securely around his small waist, determined not to let go of their prize, and pulling him back up to the bubbling surface. He was dragged through the thick skin of the pool with a gasp, and his own bare body immediately pressed up tightly against the hardly defined and similarly exposed chest of his saviour, his captor, in a stiflingly intimate embrace that reawakened the terror in his heart. _Naraku! No… Just Katsuro… thank Kami! _

The dark haired fool was strong, although not as strong as himself, of course. It would be a simple matter to slip free of his grasp, threaten him enough so that he didn't mention the embarrassing incident ever again, and go on his own way.

But even so, to his horror Sesshoumaru realised that for all his angry yelps and growls, he now could barely move himself, and now, his eyelids were beginning to droop closed to. Above him, he saw the Eagle's full lips curve upwards in a smile.

_Katsuro… you bastard… what the hell are you thinking?_

Then the too-cool hands that had been holding him so tightly loosened, and began to drift downwards over his naked flesh.

Sesshoumaru reacted on the barest of animalistic instinct, his heavy mind just remembering what the last pair of hands drifting over his skin like this had done, and kicked his weakened body into action with all the pent up panic and rage that had been trapped beneath his cool shell in the near-on three years since Naraku had died.

His body was practically immobile, but he forced himself into a reluctant movement, wriggling himself like an eel from those cold, terrifying hands, and transforming into his ball-of-glowing-light-mode (A.N.- does this form have a name? Please tell me if it does…) before composing what was left of his energy, and vanishing from that damned pool the fastest he could go, leaving Katsuro standing there, fingers still splayed out towards him, eyes still lustful, and staring hungrily after him.

But where to go? He was running out of energy, running out fast… his ball form was a much quicker mode of transport, but he still doubted he would be able to get back to the village, to safety, before, bad, he lost consciousness completely, or worse, Katsuro caught up with him in this mortifyingly pathetic state. No, he needed somewhere else, _someone_ else, someone he could trust to take care of him until that idiot saw the error of his ways and took off this damned spell, whatever it was. But who to turn to?

Totosai? No, he had no idea where the old sword-smith currently resided, and cared less anyway. Totosai owed him no loyalty now Father's wish was fulfilled and Bakusaiga was safe at his side, and would probably rather hand him wrapped and bound to Katsuro rather than protect him. There had never been any love lost between Sesshoumaru and the fire-breathing demon, even when Father had still been alive, and Sesshoumaru doubted that would ever change.

Who else then? He couldn't burden Jaken, Kohaku and Rin with himself now- they would have no chance against the full-youkai Lord of the South. Who else then? Who else was strong enough… kind enough…

_Oh, Kami, father… what do I do now?_

A sudden, unexpected thought flooded his spell-wearied mind, a last gift from his nearly-slumbering Youkai.

"_Inuyasha."_

"No way," he told his Youkai. "No way in Hell would _he _help _me…"_

"_Hanyou*," _answered his Youkai, impertinent as ever, but it's usual cheeky and frivolous attitude so unlike himself dimmed by the long waves of sleepiness passing over both of them. "_But half-ningen* to. Don't forget…"_

And then the soft voice that had always been with him since he had been born, guiding him, annoying him, and teaching him in equal measures was gone, fallen to Katsuro's spell.

And Sesshoumaru knew that he to would soon follow, unless he did something, and fast.

'_Inuyasha…_' thought Sesshoumaru to himself. '_I wonder…_' Already his vision was dimming, his mind, normally so clear and bright, becoming dully fogged.

Ahead of him suddenly loomed a tree, a tree so familiar it hurt to gaze upon it, and the sudden flare of memories made him turn his head away.

'_Of course… this is where Inuyasha slept for those lonely fifty years… I came by everyday, remember? No, of course not, he never knew of it… Am I to share your same fate now, Otouto?_'

Despite his previous worries, he was nearing the village now- he had underestimated his own speed, even with the weight of the curse now pressing so heavily down on him. Surely he could make it, just another few minutes…

_No. Another few minutes you don't have._

Still, Sesshoumaru pushed himself onwards, his ball shape beginning to lose it's focus and revert back to his more comfortable humanoid form as he began to lose his grasp over the massive power his youkai presented, but all of his mind screaming at him to get away from that tree, that horrible tree where his Otouto had been pinned like a dead butterfly for so long, that tree that symbolised enchantment and sleep, merciful sleep…

No time to sleep now though… he must find Inuyasha! (A.N.- yes, Sesshy-kun's thought process gets a little crazy here. But he's tired… just like me… yawn.)

But his thoughts were muddling now- for surely Inuyasha was still in the village, and hadn't he already told himself that he wouldn't make it there? If this was so, why did he feel his presence so strongly in the air, despite there being little more than a lingering scent of his brother around? As if Inuyasha wasn't here himself, but had been very recently, and would probably return again…

He was almost completely back into his humanoid form by now, with only a few delicate silver remnant trails of his ball remaining drifting from his skin behind him, and finding it hard to stand upright, let alone keep up his sluggish forwards motion. And soo when something hit into his thighs, he toppled right over- and into the Bone Eaters Well.

Of course, Sesshoumaru, especially in his confused and befuddled state, did not recognise it as such, but he definitely did recognise the stench of dead Youkai, and it terrified him. However… there was no way that Katsuro, the bastard, would come looking for him here, with the strong reek of dead Youkai and omen of ancient and strange power hanging so thickly that even that dumb overgrown chicken should be able to sense _something_ of it.

And anyway, there _was_ that strange, powerful smell that was Inuyasha's and Inuyasha's alone, swirling all around him, a strange mixture of body odour from bad personal hygiene and constant activeness crossed with the rich scent of woodlands and a heady, personal musk.

Sesshoumaru had always found it faintly nauseating in the past, that scent, like it was a clear banner spelling out the words 'hanyou' above his brother's head, what with it being nothing like the smell of a Youkai. But now, as finally, curled up into a tight, fearful ball in one corner of the well, surrounded by the rotting, stagnant bones of his own kind, he drifted off to a cursed and unwelcome sleep, there was something strangely comforting about it.

_Inuyasha… _he pleaded silently, because there was no-one to hear. _Inuyasha, please find me, please help me… please don't let Naraku… no! It's Katsuro, _Katsuro, _Naraku's gone, gone, gone… Please don't let him find me…_

'How shameful…' he whispered to himself. 'the mighty western lord reduced to begging…'

But what other choice did he have? He could only hope that Inuyasha would hear his invisible voice and come to rescue him. _Inuyasha!_

How ironic and despicable, that Sesshoumaru's last coherent thought before his mind was truly lost to Katsuro's spell was an unheard cry for his hated younger brother.

And also… how sweet.

//

In the village, Inuyasha lay back on the pile of logs he had recently collected from the forest, idly scratching his nose with one grubby-nailed finger, and wondering when Sango would get back from her latest slaying mission. Not that he _minded_ not having to listen to her and Miroku's… funtime… all night every night, (that's the only problem with super-human hearing- when your two best friends are fucking eachother!) but when the pretty young slayer was gone, both her two young twins, plus the as-good-as-adopted Shippou, _and _Miroku, the man himself, who was probably still even more immature than his own children, would come to bother _him_ instead.

And, Fuckin' hell, he really couldn't handle Miroku's shit today. (A.N. – sorry if Inu's swearing offends anyone, but despite being a prince, or whatever, he's not exactly well bought up. I know his mom died when he was little, but couldn't she have taught him _manners?_ Honestly.)

He didn't know why, nor did he care, but he had a bad feeling in his gut. Really, really bad. Platatonic, someone-you-love-is-in-danger bad, go help them now bad, and it was pissing him off even more that usual.

Only, not being the sharpest tack in the box, he couldn't think up any ideas of what to do, who it was, or where to go, and so he had eventually given up and frustratedly dismissed it as a mere superstition.

However now, as the villagers were just beginning to turn in for the night, the bad vibes had grown cancerously into an outright panic, and it was making him twitchy as hell and twice as volatile.

So, as you can see, he really _didn't_ need Miroku and the kids sneaking up behind him whilst he was distracted with an itchy nose and yelling 'BOO!' very loudly at the top of their voices.

As it was, Inuyasha let out a very unmasculine and undemonic shriek, nearly gouged his eye out on his raised claw, and fell forwards off the log, faceplanting in the dirt in a way far to similar to the S-I-Ts of the past to be of comfort.

"Fucking hell, Miroku ya baka*!" he roared, surging to his feet in a rippling mass of pissed of Hanyou, tanned skin, muscle, bright red clothing, long white hair, and eerily out-of-place cute little dog ears that sat smugly upon the crown of his head, proclaiming his existence as a Hanyou to the world. "I nearly lopped off your head with the Tetsusaiga!"

Miroku wasn't listening, instead bowing over with a clutched gut and laughing off his dumb head.

"The look on your face, Inuyasha! I've never seen you so scared in my life!"

Inuyasha scowled, turning abruptly. He didn't get scared. Ever. Didn't Miroku know at least the rules of conversing between two guys of the Y-chromosone? You didn't mention fear, personal goo-goo emotional stuff, or crying. They were the three taboos- everything besides that was free to go. Sex, Alcohol, money, he could take it all. Just not the big three bad'uns.

Inuyasha had thought that all men understood this extremely important rule, but, obviously, Miroku wasn't like all men. (_That _much even Inuyasha should've been able to work out for himself pretty much immediately!)

"You all can fuck off now," he said grouchily. "I'm going to the well."

Miroku's eyes softened suddenly, and he reached forwards away from the still giggling toddlers tumbling around his feet and clasped his friend's shoulder with the once so deadly Wind-Tunnel hand. Of course now, since Naraku's death, the skin of the hand was smooth and tanned as the rest of Miroku's body, perfectly unblemished, yet Inuyasha had still seen the care Miroku took with taking off the rosary he still wore wrapped around his wrist- as if he was scared that the hellhole would miraculously spring open again and suck in everything he loved in the new life he had created for himself.

_But he's healing. He's getting better. We _all_ are._

"Inuyasha, she's not coming back."

_All except Kagome. 'Cause I don't even know if she's alive or dead anymore._

Shit. That made taboo rule number two broken. The second that depraved Monk got onto the topic of sobbing, Inuyasha was kickin' his arse from here to the Meidou.

"I'm leavin'," he growled.

Then frowned.

Was that his bastard brother's scent he smelt, floating on the wind? And why was it coming from the direction of the Bone Eater's Well?

Fin.

//

The Bunyip's little corner of Japan!

Otouto (弟) – Little Brother

Inuyoukai (犬 悪 魔) – Dog Demon

Taiyoukai (魔 王) – Demon Lord

Kami (神) – God

Youkai (鬼 ) – Demon

Hanyou (半鬼) – Half Demon

Ningen (人々) – Human

Baka (痴 人) – Idiot

The spell used by Katsuro on Sesshoumaru – go to sleep, my beauty, for all eternity, until wakened by the kiss of life! (It was in Irish. I don't know why. Just some meaningless poetic drivel I spouted).

Sorry if any of these are wrong- please inform me if they are, or if you know any good translation sites!

Press the big green button, guys! I need all the support I can get…


	2. 1 The Embarressing Awakening

Sleeping Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 1: The Embarrassing Awakening

Inuyasha sprinted lightly across the earthy ground of the forest, feet barely touching the ground. He knew the well-trodden way so well now, after walking it once or twice a day, that he no longer needed to direct his legs as he surged forwards.

He was propelled by a strange anger- over the years since Kagome had gone back inside the well, to her own strange world in her own strange time, _the world where she truly belonged_ although he really didn't want to think scarily true thoughts like that, not now, not ever, the area around the Bone Eater's Well had become Sacred to him. Even Sango, Miroku and Kilala didn't come on pilgrimage to the little clearing anymore, understanding his need for privacy, his want to keep all his sadness and grieving for the sweet years he'd spent with Kagome by his side bottled up just for himself.

It was a selfish dream, that was true, but it was the only way he could make all the pain of not seeing her face go away. Sure, if the others wanted to accept that their friend was gone and go back to their own lives, it was their choice, but Inuyasha couldn't, wouldn't forget, and the Well had become his own personal spot of reminiscence.

The villagers had come to the Bone Eater's Well rarely anyway, too terrified of the demon-infested forest surroundings, despite the fact that the greatest danger in it- himself- was contentedly walking amongst them, and protecting their worthless arses for the most of it as well. Not that they deserved it, bloody ningen*- they still gave him nothing but abuse for his stupid demonic blood. It pissed him off to say it, but Kaede was the only decent one among them, stupid old hag that could read him far too well for his liking that she was.

But, anyway, Inuyasha regarded the sacred space where he had last laid eyes upon Kagome as his own, personal place of memories, and of course was angry that someone else dared step into the boundaries of the peaceful little world of his own that he had once shared with her there.

It only made it worse that his hated brother (_half_ brother, thought Inuyasha furiously,) was the one in that space.

Inuyasha had been on edge recently, looking for a good chance to start a decent, well-matched fight, and now that Naraku was gone from this world by his own hands, the only one who could give him that was Sesshoumaru.

Despite himself, he felt a grin twitch his lips. He had barely seen his half-brother since after Kagome had disappeared down the well, when Rin had finally been left completely under the care of the village. As far as Inuyasha could tell, Rin still went to visit the bastard from time to time, but on those rare occasions it was always her who came to him, whenever he was in the area, and they always picked a meeting point not far from the village, but far enough that even Inuyasha the shameless would need at least a semi-decent excuse to go barging in on their father-daughter time and asking for a tussle.

This was gonna be good…

//

He reached the clearing and drew to an abrupt halt, ripping his Tetsusaiga from it's magical sheath and hearing the familiar zzzinnggg sound through the air as it reassumed it's true form- the form of his father's fang.

He didn't need to look down to see it, he knew it's smooth, stylised shape by heart, knew it's comfortable weight and incredible sharpness and efficiency just by holding the strangely ragged hilt in his calloused hands. Whenever he fought with Tetsusaiga, it felt like some part of him was being filled, like the hole in his heart left painful and raw by both the death of Kikyo and loss of Kagome was somehow smoothed over. It was a strange feeling, almost like finding a peaceful oasis in the midst of the bleak, still-mourning desert of his mind, and he welcomed it like a child to its mothers breast.

Instead, he used the valuable time to scan the little clearing for his brother, ready to block and parry and thrust, to gauge the strength and speed of the various attacks that were sure to come flying at him any second now…

Any second now…

Nothing.

Inuyasha's face pulled into a confused frown.

Where was Sesshoumaru?

Despite the seemingly improbable safety of the Well's surroundings, Inuyasha didn't dare lower his sword for the slightest instant, still ready for an attack. He wouldn't put his brother past hiding in a nearby bush and surprising him, after all.

But it was definitely… strange. Generally speaking, Sesshoumaru was the one who fought fair and out in the open, whilst it was Inuyasha who used anything and everything he could to try and claw an advantage over his insanely strong Taiyoukai* sibling. If Sesshoumaru wanted a fight, their blades would have been clashing long ago. And there was no other reason for him to be here, seeing as Rin was probably tucked up safe in the village (hopefully _not _with Miroku, who still hadn't given up his women-fondling ways. Inuyasha doubted even he could protect the Hentai* Houshii* from the wrath of both Sesshoumaru _and _Sango.).

But he was definitely here, and close. Inuyasha took a delicate whiff of the air- yes, Sesshoumaru's distinctive scent, full of heady power and just a hint of wet dog was all around. Where was he?

Inuyasha took a tentative step forwards, then another, then another. When his throat remained unslit, and no deep, mocking voice insulting his mother filled his ears, he finally accepted that he wasn't in any danger, and awkwardly slid the Tetsusaiga back into it's polished black sheath, where it instantly reverted to the form of a rusty old katana.

It was then, as the obvious bait of his unprotected self was left unharmed, that Inuyasha began to _really_ worry.

Because he could only think of one other reason why his hated bastard of a brother would come to this place if he wasn't looking for bloodshed- Sesshoumaru was running.

Sesshoumaru was _hurt._

Inuyasha didn't want to think why the possibility of that (which _was_ very, very slim indeed) scared him quite so much. After all, it wasn't like his brother would give a damn if _he _died. He'd probably be more pissed off that he couldn't finish him himself…

Yes, that was it! Inuyasha was just angry that he wasn't able to mutilate the bastard himself, and pay him back for all that shit Sesshoumaru had given him over the past however-many-it-was years! It had been totally unfair, how he had immediately been blamed for their mutual father's death, and how Sesshoumaru had started to hate him so vehemently, before Inuyasha was even old enough to come up with a counterarguement.

Like- 'It wasn't _my_ choice to be born. And it _definitely_ wasn't my choice to be born a Hanyou!'

But he doubted Sesshoumaru would have listened. Heck, he didn't listen now, not even after they had worked together (albeit grudgingly) so many times.

What about Magatsuhi? What about Sou'unga?

And what about Naraku?

Surely all that counted for something, besides more insults!

Yes, if anyone was going to end the perfect Bastard's life, it would be Inuyasha himself.

At least, that's what he told himself.

'_Silly boy,' _whispered the voice of his Inner-Youkai*. '_you're in denial. And you know it.'_

Inuyasha studiously ignored it, and set about the task of finding his brother.

//

The Bone Eater's Well was the last place Inuyasha looked.

He had been certain that no Youkai, no matter how desperate, would ever seek refuge in that stinking pit of dead bodies- it even disgusted him, a Hanyou* who now prided himself on his ningen heart!

It would be terrifying, and most definitely nauseating, for a full demon, especially a Taiyoukai proud of his demonic heritage such as Sesshoumaru.

But he had searched everywhere else around the small clearing to no avail, and was rapidly giving up hope. The Bone Eater's Well was truly the last place Sesshoumaru could possibly be, and sure enough, his scent intensified as Inuyasha neared the cursed hole in the ground that had caused him so much happiness in the form of the young mortal girl he had come to love, and then cruelly ripped it all away again.

Inuyasha leaned gingerly over the high wooden sides of the well, peering into the inky darkness below and ignoring the rush of painful memories.

Once, the well had glowed with a painfully pure light, a light that had allowed him and Kagome to swap between their worlds and be together, back when everything was still going right for him. Because, sure, Naraku was dead now, and he'd gotten his revenge, but without Kagome, he sometimes found himself pondering if it had been worth it.

But now, the bottom of the Well was thoroughly hidden beneath a veiling cloud of dark shadow, and Inuyasha leaned as far as he dared, trying to squint through the haze and cursing his comparatively weak eyes, for a demon would surely be able to penetrate this.

It would have been so much simpler just to jump into the well, and have a nose around, but that was one trip down memory lane Inuyasha really didn't want to make. So instead he stayed, balancing precariously, and searching unsuccessfully for the outline of his brother's form.

Finally, after a few minutes of fruitless searching, but determined not to give up until he found the bastard and made him pay for worrying him like this, Inuyasha resorted to different tactics.

"Oi! Sesshoumaru, you bastard, you alive down there? Answer me!"

Nothing, still nothing. This was, quite frankly, terrifying, and the stench of old demonic bones and blood were beginning to make Inuyasha feel slightly tipsy. Just what he didn't need- vertigo over the edge of this overly-familiar drop. And he _definitely _didn't want to fall in and find himself laying on his brother's still warm corpse or anything creepy like that.

Inuyasha, resolute in his stubbornness, took a deep gust of Sesshoumaru-flavoured air into his lungs, and tried again.

"Sesshoumaru! You fuckin' she-male, get your girly arse up here right now!" (A.N. – I had to throw this in here somewhere )

Heck, if that didn't work, nothing would, and the fucker really _was_ dead.

Inuyasha smirked, and sat back on the grass to wait. There was no way in frozen-over hell that his aniki* could ever resist _that _rather hard jab at his effeminate looks. Even if Sesshoumaru really _was_ laying crippled at the bottom of the well, unable to move, Inuyasha was pretty sure that there would be some insults flying his way damn soon.

Still nothing.

Biting his lip with his slightly-bigger-than-human fangs, Inuyasha pulled himself once again to his feet, and marched back to the well.

"Hey, you dead or something?" He called again. "'Cause if you are, I ain't gonna haul your sorry corpse back to the surface! Bastard!"

He wasn't really expecting an answer to that one. By now he really _had_ given up all hope of ever seeing Sesshoumaru alive again.

"_You mean you were _hoping_ to see him alive?"_

"Shut up."

For once, his Youkai obeyed, and Inuyasha leaned over the edge once again, staring musingly down into the darkness and wondering if his brother really was as dead as he seemed to be.

Shippou, the only other one apart from himself who still came to visit his first surrogate mother's departing point with a religious consistency, took this opportunity to barrel at full hyperactive fox-youkai pelt into his legs from downwind, sending him tumbling down into the well with a loud yell of surprise.

Inuyasha half expected to see a flash of light and to open his squeezed tightly-shut eyes to the youkai-bone free and well-dusted counterpart to his well in Kagome's strange and alien world, as had happened so often whenever he went down the well before, but of course, there was none, and he landed hard upon the floor surrounded by bones and the strong scent of his brother, even closer than before.

"_Kami*'s above…" _wailed his Youkai as he felt his bruised head. And then, as he turned and saw just what, or who, he had landed on top of, "_Holy shit!!!"_

Because there, curled up beneath him, silvery blue-tinted hair whiter than the bones around him splayed temptingly about his form, and bright golden eyes shut as if in slumber lay his aniki, still as if he were truly dead.

And he was also butt-naked.

//

Inuyasha let out a yip of shock, and immediately jumped back, off his brother's prone body, waiting for the inevitable claws to rip into his throat for this insolence- but none came. After a few seconds, he crawled a little closer, puzzled as to why his brother would come to be here, seemingly unaware of his presence, and clothed only in his bare skin and long hair, which only did a semi-good job of keeping it decent seeing as the majority of it was curled around his head in a halo rather than spread across the vast expanse of bare skin that Inuyasha's eyes now roamed unashamedly across.

Or at least, until he remembered that the beautiful person laying so alluringly in front of him was a male, no less the brother whose guts he hated more than any other current person in the world, excepting possibly a manky wolf-demon currently prancing about in a furry miniskirt somewhere far, far north of the area (thank the lord).

Then he slowly, but firmly, moved his disobedient eyes away from Sesshoumaru's long slender legs, which were tucked defensively beneath the rest of his eerily pale and luminescent body, and focused them on his immobile face.

It was quite a shock- he'd never seen his aniki look so relaxed as he did as he slept before him- and he _was_ just asleep, not dead, Inuyasha was happy to realise, as he could clearly see the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

So relaxed… and so vulnerable…

Inuyasha growled, and pushed that thought away.

"Hey, Inuyasha!" came Shippou's voice from the top of the well. Being full-demon, he could probably just about make out Inuyasha's shape from where he perched on the roughly carved wooden boarding, but Sesshoumaru was probably invisible to him. _Good, _thought the Hanyou. _I really could do without Shippou doing the whole 'Ohmigod your brother's down the well' routine now, fuck you very much, Kamis._

"Hey," he answered back wearily.

"Are you okay? I mean, I just pushed you down the well-" _give the kid a prize _"- and normally you'd up here in a second punching my lights out! Are you hurt?"

Inuyasha made the sensible decision of not informing the inflatable little kid of his bastard brother's presence, and decided on a different cover story.

"Um… yeah. I caught my ankle on something. Go back to the village, will ya, and get some meds from Kaede, kay?"

"You want medicine? You normally say it smells ikky and you'll heal on your own," quoted Shippou dubiously. Inuyasha snorted. The kid had to pick now of all times to show that he had more than a single brain cell…

"Go, Shippou. I'm on watch tonight, and I'll need to be fully healed and ready for anything, so hurry it up, will ya? It ain't nice down here, not with all these freaky skulls glarin' at me."

He could almost see Shippou's pout.

"Will you play with me later?"

"Yes, just go away!" Anything to get the nosy kit out of harms way. Because he doubted his brother would be in the best of moods when he woke up, especially if he woke up in the nude, practically beneath the Hanyou he detested so much, and when Sesshoumaru was angry, generally everything within a half-mile radius would have a tendency to get caught up in his wrath. No one deserved that, especially not a little brat like Shippou.

"You're getting soft, Inuyasha!"

on second thoughts, Shippou would deserve every second of it.

"Go!" growled Inuyasha. "Before I change my mind and feed you to the next hungry demon with a liking for tender young fox pup flesh I can find!"

Shippou was gone before he had even finished his speech, although he would have his revenge, that much Inuyasha was sure of, probably in the form of telling all the kids in the village what a wuss he was for not even being able to deal with a little twisted ankle.

Inuyasha scowled. He'd give the brat a whack later. He had other matters to deal with now.

He turned back to his brother, who hadn't moved at all, still laying as limp as a rag doll across the floor of the well.

"Well, now what the fuck do I do?" He asked.

//

Three quarters of an hour later, and Inuyasha had tried everything.

He'd shook his shoulders, yelled his name with varying degrees of loudness, ranging from 1) annoyingly noisy, to 10) earsplitting, and even given that beautiful face a couple of slaps, which made the blood rise quickly to the surface of Sesshoumaru's too-pale skin before quickly fading away again, leaving stark whiteness in its place.

Nothing worked. His brother simply would not wake up.

Inuyasha gave out a long, drawn-out sigh, and rested his head back against the far wall of the Well.

Seriously.

What in Kami's name was going on? Why was Sesshoumaru so irrevocably asleep? Sesshoumaru _never_ slept. And how on Earth was he going to wake him up?

"_Why do you _want_ to wake him up?"_ asked his Youkai snippily, after a few minutes of the tense silence had grown to much for it to bear. _"I thought you hated him!"_

"Yeah," said Inuyasha slowly, a strange realisation pooling in his stomach. "Yeah I hate him. Yeah I'd love to pay him back for all the crap he's given me over the years. But he's still my brother, and right now he needs my help."

His Youkai was silent after that, but whether it was because of his awesome monologue or because, as his talking became more heated, he had clambered to his feet, and subsequently tripped over a handy skull of a boar-like ex-youkai determined to do as much damage as possible even from the afterlife, and had fallen over on top of his brother, _again…_

…just as Sesshoumaru moved for the first time, twisting his head around slightly just as Inuyasha landed, so the lips that should have met solid earth by his shoulder instead crashed into his own.

//

There was a shocked, painful silence.

Inuyasha was frozen in absolute horror, unable to pull away. All this time… not since Kikyo, not since that time with Kagome when he had been losing himself (A.N.- see second movie, peeps!) he had never, ever given anyone at all a kiss.

And now he was making a move on his own brother.

But all of the muddled train of thoughts inside his head broke apart and splintered as the body beneath him pressed up unconsciously into his own, and his own unwanted kiss was answered…

…and Sesshoumaru's eyes opened.

"_Oh… FUCK!" _screamed his Youkai, scrabbling away nervously inside his soul. _"We are in SOOO much SHIT right now!"_

And for once, it was totally right.

The Bunyip's little corner of Japan!

Ningen (人々) – Human

Taiyoukai (魔 王) – Demon Lord

Hentai (変 態) – Pervert

Houshii (僧) – Monk

Youkai (鬼 ) – Demon

Hanyou (半鬼) – Half Demon

Aniki (兄貴 ) – Big Brother

Kami (神 ) – God


	3. 2 Inside the Well

Sleeping Beauty and the Beast

A/N- I don't think I'm getting them very in-character… please help me out!

Chapter 2: Inside the Well

The Lord of the West opened his golden eyes to a familiar smell- trees, sweat, and dog- and the strange sensation of rough lips pressed against his own in a horribly familiar gesture of meaningless affection.

Memory stirred painfully, and Sesshoumaru nearly threw himself back away from the mutually unwanted kiss, until that strange mixture of comforting scents washed over him again.

Something stirred within him, hot and heavy. It took a few seconds for him to realise that it was lust.

"Ah…" _Inuyasha… warmth, sunlight… no darkness here, no Naraku waiting for me… safety… at last…_

Sesshoumaru moaned softly, and before even realising what he was doing, pressed himself further into the soft curve of the Hanyou's* body that was leaning paralysed with shock over his previously sleeping form, and deepened the kiss, wrapping both arms around his Otouto's* tanned neck.

Inuyasha let out a little yelp of surprise when his Aniki* answered his unwanted kiss with a talented one of his own. Only, whilst Inuyasha's kiss had been a mere accidental brush of lips, his obviously utterly insane brother was now not only _licking _him and _hugging _him, but was also plastered so firmly to his body that they may as well have been stuck together by that strange gooey stuff Kagome's grandfather coated his Ofuda* with. (A.N.- that's glue by the way, guys)

Horrified beyond all measure to have his gorgeous, but still totally evil (and totally naked) Aniki clinging to him like this, Inuyasha was just about to roughly push the more fragile (looking, anyway) demon away from him and run for the hills, cause hey, although this day could _not possibly _get any worse, with his luck, it probably would, when a strange feeling of his own flared inside of him, and, almost unable to stop himself, he regained his hold on his elder and roughly shoved his tongue in his mouth.

//

Everything seemed to freeze for a long, drawn-out moment, when suddenly Sesshoumaru awoke from whatever the hell he had been doing, seeming to see Inuyasha bending across his body for the first time.

It was then he realised just what exactly was happening to him, and in a moment of pure, un-thought-out revenge for the cruel domination of his mouth by his Otouto, he bit down as hard as he could on Inuyasha's tongue, and jerked out of his clumsy embrace, a mixed look of disgust and an unnatural fear sliding clearly across his usually oh-so-emotionless face.(A.N.- hee hee, the last bit rhymed XD)

The sudden pain in his mouth and the lack of the warm body beneath him were enough to also blink Inuyasha from his lustful trance, and he immediately hopped back, off and away from his brother to the far wall, where he quickly pressed some fingers to his lips, and was surprised to find blood leaking out around them.

It was damned well obvious what had happened- what with his tongue was singing sharply with pain only a dog's sharp canine made for biting and ripping could cause as well as the smell of his brother laying thick and heavy across his skin, and although the wound was healing quickly, thanks to his damned demon blood, he could totally tell that it would be throbbing sorely whenever he ate something for _weeks _to come.

And when you are a growing Hanyou who needs an average calorie intake of +10 000 per fuckin' _day_, this can be quite a problem.

Scowling up at Sesshoumaru, who was crouched tightly to the opposite wall of the well, as far away from Inuyasha as he could get and looking as if he would love to be anywhere else in the world rather than here with him, Inuyasha let loose his rage in a torrent.

"Motherfucker! What the _fuck _are you thinking, Sesshoumaru? Have you finally lost it?"

His Aniki gave him a low growl.

"Watch your manners, Inuyasha. And I could ask the same to you!"

"First you hug me, then you nearly _bite my fucking tongue off._ Screaming mixed signals much, you Girl!"

"Well, you kissed me first! And don't call me a girl!"

Mutual glaredown.

Followed quickly by a sudden mutual blush as they realised what they had just been arguing about, and a mutual turning away and staring at the wall, refusing to meet each other's eyes as embarrassment quickly set in.

"I didn't mean to kiss you, bastard," muttered Inuyasha at long last, hiding his still flushed face in one full red sleeve.

"And I most certainly did not mean to hug you… half breed."

It had been a long time since he'd heard those words, what with his new home in a village of humans who respected him for the most part (or at least only insulted him behind cotton sleeves and closed doors) and with barely having laid eyes upon his hated brother in the two, nearing three years since Naraku's death and Kagome's return to her true world. They stung, Inuyasha realised, and he was ashamed at just how much.

Simple words should never be that painful to hear, but words like 'Half-breed' and 'Hanyou' were all large, gaping wounds of his lonely past and torturous childhood, and it seemed as if Sesshoumaru's favourite game was to rub salt into those wounds.

Inuyasha refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing to exactly what extent his words hat hurt him, and so turned fully away, staring resolutely at the wall until either Sesshoumaru fucked off and left him alone in the stinking well or Shippou came back with the ointment and gave him an excuse to return to the village.

//

And so, there was another tense few seconds of silence between the two brothers.. Then, Inuyasha finally remembered the reason he was down the well in the first place, and turned back to his brother, conveniently forgetting the embarrassing events of the past few minutes. (A.N. – he's a bit like a goldfish, isn't he? 3 second memory…)

"Hey, why are you here in the first place, Sesshoumaru? I mean, it's not like you to pop in and have a chat, and if you'd wanted Rin, I doubt you'd be sitting down an old well like this, especially one that smells so bad of death for all of demonkind and all of that shit. It can't exactly be the best hotel room to stay at, especially not with you being a Taiyoukai* and all that shit." Another sudden thought flashed sharply across Inuyasha's mind, and he frowned, adding onto his question before Sesshoumaru could react to the insult.

"Come to think of it, why _are_ you down the Bone Eater's Well in the first place? And, um… why…" His gaze shifted to the bared expanse of skin as pale as the moon, and his frown shallowed, becoming something else before he quickly pulled his eyes away, desperately trying to ignore the sudden strange want flaring in his gut.

"Um… why're you naked?"

Sesshoumaru sat still as a marble statue, just looking at him with those similar golden orbs, until Inuyasha's blush began to return, greater than ever…

"_Mmm, he looks so sexy when he's staring at us like that!"_

His Youkai's voice flared up in his mind, unwanted and definitely unneeded, and not helping with the wide spread of colour across his cheeks in the slightest.

"_Now imagine him looking like that… sprawled out beneath us on a big bed with those beautiful thighs up around our waist…"_

Oh fuuuuuck… Inuyasha was sure he was way past even the colour of one of Kaede's ripest tomatoes. And, as much as he tried to dissuade himself, the dirty image of his brother being so submissive _was _rather appealing…

"_See? You like it, don't you, puppy? Just admit it, you know you want to…"_ The voice held a definite taunt to it now, and if there was one think our hot-headed Hanyou hated most of all, it was being teased.

Especially when the object lesson was Sesshoumaru…

"Shut up!" He howled at it, and not realising he had spoken aloud until Sesshoumaru cocked his head to one side, giving him a curious look, almost childlike in its untruthful youthful innocence. (A.N.- More rhyming… I'm a poet and I know it!)

"Who are you talking to, Inuyasha? I have not yet spoken. And you accuse me of being the insane one?"

Inuyasha scowled hugely, lips peeling back to reveal a full set of sharp fangs, and decided, for once in his life, to tell the truth.

"Youkai Issues."

"That's not so bad."

Okay, so maybe not the whole truth. But then he wasn't quite sure how well Sesshoumaru would react to '_My Youkai think's you're sexy. And I'm scared that I might as well…'_

No, best not to risk it. That kiss between them had changed something, something that Inuyasha had never dared to touch before now, and he was no longer sure of how anything would turn out anymore. Who knew, maybe Sesshoumaru would go nuts and start _snogging _him again. And then…

He was distracted by a hungry drawn-out pantof pleasure from his Youkai, full of an obvious need that he sure had no wish to fulfil. Or so he hoped.

"Aah, shit!" He clapped a work-calloused palm roughly to his forehead. "Shut up, ya good for nothing mongrel already!"

He didn't see his brother move from his place against the far wall, but after hearing his cry in an instant Sesshoumaru was by his side, gently peeling the sweaty hand back from his face, and laying his own cool one there in it's place. Inuyasha almost had a heart attack- one second his brother lay curled in a tight ball as far away from him as was humanly – or demonly – possible, and the next, he was snuggled tight up against his side, and was feeling his _forehead_.

And those deep, burnished eyes were gazing heatedly into his own with a force that made him squirm happily somewhere deep inside his chest. Maybe this was what his Youkai had meant earlier…

No. _No. _Definitely _not_ thinking that.

Sesshoumaru was a bastard, and he always would be, nothing more. Not a friend, never even so much a brother. They had nearly killed each other far too many times to ever hold each other in something even beginning to resemble animosity.

So why in Hell did Inuyasha want to kiss those lips now so softly parted and only a few centimetres away from his own once again?

"…talk to it?"

"Wha…" Inuyasha snapped back into his own mind and control, feeling slightly sick. Dear Kami*s above, this was _not _happening. Even if he was just a damnable gaki* of a Hanyou, as everyone around him seemed to love to point out, he still had _some _semblance of pride flowing through his mixed-blooded veins.

Or at least, he'd thought he had.

But now… to be thinking like this about _Sesshoumaru_, of all people, it went far, far beyond embarrassing, right down into the 'deeply mortifying' category. Ah, hell, he'd never live this one down once Sesshoumaru had gone on his way like he always did, not from either his Youkai or his own broken ego.

His brother gave him the patented blank look.

"You weren't listening?"

"Why would I listen to you? Bastard. I thought my Hanyou ears were unworthy of your big bad Youkai* voice." Inuyasha shot back without thinking. It was always like this in a talk with his brother- the insults just came so much easier than anything else. And they had both been so cruel to each other over the years that they could take pretty much anything the other threw at them.

It was a relief, realised Inuyasha, surprised, to be able to say whatever the Hell he liked and not have to suffer through Sango's fiery retribution or Miroku's sulking or Shippou's tears.

And it was also a huge relief to be able to talk to someone who would insult him right back, the way that only brave, amazing Kagome had done in the past. It was strange, but just talking like this, the familiar banter and bickering, bought a strange sense of homeliness to the young Hanyou.

_Constant._ Yes, that was what he needed. Even if it was Sesshoumaru.

//

"Sorry," he apologised, this in itself an incredible event. "What did you say?"

"I said," repeated his brother slowly, "Why don't you let me talk to it?"

"Talk to what?"

"Your youkai, of course. If it's hurting…"

"It's not hurting, just annoying. And I can control it fine on my own. Anyway…" Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at Sesshoumaru, who was still far too close for comfort. Did being a full-blooded youkai also come with the lack of need for personal space?

"Why are you helping me? Or offering to? I'm just the stupid Hanyou. And after the um, the _you know what_," Sesshoumaru raised a fine eyebrow to that one, but didn't debate it for fear that the word 'kiss' might pass between them again "I thought you'd be much more likely to dash my brains out on a rock or something."

"As much as I would enjoy it, I think I'll decline from the last part of that. This Well stinks badly enough of deceased Youkai already. I do not need your foul blood adding to that stench."

"You're welcome, you bastard. You wouldn't be able to touch me, anyway!"

Inuyasha wasn't expecting his last comment to not get a response, far from it, but he _definitely_ wasn't expecting Sesshoumaru to dive on top of him in an attempt to prove him wrong.

"Hey… Hey! Get off!" He yelped from his newly compromising position on the floor, pinned beneath his aniki.

"Who can't touch who now, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru smirked.

Inuyasha gritted his teeth, annoyed that he had let his guard down even for one second, and bucked his hips wildly for a few seconds, still barely managing to throw his brother off. He quickly crawled on top of his prize, and in turn pinned Sesshoumaru to the floor.

He was straddling Sesshoumaru's waist, pinning a slender, porcelain-pale arm beneath each large sunbrowned hand, grinning down into his brother's shocked face. Obviously, Sesshoumaru hadn't expected this either.

Inuyasha gave a low laugh, and moved in to bite the delicate white arch of his aniki's throat.

It was a move made in pure spite alone, that much was obvious, with no intent to kill behind it, as Inuyasha only wished to dent his brothers pride by giving him a quick nip in the most vulnerable part of his near-on indestructible body. After all, if Inuyasha had been moving in for the kill, he would be flashing his large canines, rather than just the more humanesque incisors.

And so, Sesshoumaru, who knew all this Inuyoukai*-to-Inuyoukai etiquetter back to front for sure, really did have nothing to fear from this.

So Inuyasha was surprised when his brother's normally stoic and unreadable face gave a sudden flare of emotion, and his long-lashed eyes glazed over and widened in a rush of paralysing fear.

"Please… don't…" his brother whispered, his soft, husky voice holding a completely uncharacteristic note of begging to it. "Don't hurt me anymore…"

Inuyasha, puzzled, drew back a little, and was both amazed and alarmed to see a trembling shiver run the full length of Sesshoumaru's bare body. _Frightened… He sounds really, really frightened…_

The shivers didn't stop, and neither did the quiet whimpering. It was as if, before his very eyes, his aniki had become a completely different person. A scared and damaged one.

And suddenly, Inuyasha was at a total loss for what to do.

Memory surfaced- Kagome, waking up in the middle of the night and leaving the hut where they all slept. He had been the only one who had noticed, and so had followed her, equally as silent on his stealthy well-practiced feet, to find her broken down and crying against the Bone Eater's Well.

"What's wrong?" he remembered asking her. She had been afraid then, he remembered, and terribly so. "What's wrong?" he asked again, and this time she told him.

It wasn't anything much, not in his eyes- just the pressure of those strange 'exam' demons she always went running back into her time to slay (A.N.- Someone said this in the latest episode of Inuyasha: Kanketsu-hen btw, I forget who. But it made me laugh, so I had to put it in here somewhere!) but it obviously meant an awful lot to her, and so he had done the first thing that had come into his head, and put his arms around her.

Barely thinking, only desperate to see that terror leave his brother's face, Inuyasha leant down and did the same thing to his brother.

It was then that he noticed the light traceries of scars on the neck he had nearly nipped from where another mouth, other than his, had cruelly bitten down, and for a second, wondered what exactly Sesshoumaru must have gone through to merit such a strange reaction.

But then the thought was gone, and both he- and his happily purring youkai- were just content to hold the young lord beneath them in their arms.

//

Sesshoumaru resurfaced from the nightmare of Naraku and what had been done to him to the gentle embrace of his brother, whose arms and body formed a strong wall, around and over him, protecting him from the fear that had overcome him at the thought of anyone biting his throat.

Shows of domination like this were not such a big thing between youkai, especially of the inu* clan, as they were for weaker beings like humans, being used more for play and gentle reminders of who was boss than an actual threat.

But the last person who had bitten him in such a place had also gone on to do… other things. More painful things, things he didn't want to think about anymore, and so he would lock them away behind his cold persona, as he always did.

As he lay there, feeling protected, really protected, for the first time in so long, he found himself pondering if he would ever be able to let all that pain go- or if it would all be bundled up behind his cruel façade forever.

_I need someone,_ he realised, his eyes swimming open lazily to see a soft head of long white hair pooled with his own light blue locks across his chest and the floor around them. _Someone warm and sunny who can make the darkness of Katsuro and Naraku go away._

_Someone like Inuyasha._

The Bunyip's little corner of Japan!

Hanyou (半鬼) – Half Demon

Otouto (弟) – Little Brother

Aniki (兄貴 ) – Big Brother

Ofuda- (御 札) – Talisman

Taiyoukai (魔 王) – Demon Lord

Kami (神) – God

Gaki (餓 鬼 ) – Brat

Youkai (鬼 ) – Demon

Inuyoukai (犬 悪 魔) – Dog Demon

Inu (犬 ) – Dog (well duh)

Once again, please tell me if any of the above are incorrect, and the correct translations!

**A/N- Read and review, guys, read and review!**

**That nice big green button isn't going to press itself, you know!**

**Okay, so Sesshoumaru has now spent **_**3 whole chapters **_**in the nude. It's a new record (I think) but I'm gonna have to disappoint all of my fellow rabid fangirls and say that as well as Katsuro making a return move, our adorable little Sesshy-kun'll probably be back in clothes next chappie. **

**Probably.**

**Possibly.**

**If I'm in a nice mood…**

**Ah well, keep reading to find out!**


	4. 3 How things come to be

A.N.- Okay, NEXT!

Please enjoy this. Katsuro will return!

Chapter 3: How things come to be

Shippou hopped lightly back towards the well, his large fluffy ball of a fox-tail bouncing eagerly behind him as he went.

He was carelessly balancing a large pot of medicinal salve on his head, not really worried if it fell off or not. After all, Inuyasha didn't really need it. He had probably just sent the young fox-kit away so that he could have some alone time at the well with his precious Kagome-sama.

Shippou snorted angrily, almost unbalancing the pot, and reaching up half-heartedly to steady it with one tiny paw.

"Stupid Inuyasha!" he complained loudly, kicking a stone that happened to be in his path. "Owch!" After rubbing his now aching foot for a little, he continued on his journey, still muttering under his breath about dumb Hanyou's* and lack of respect for true Youkai*, no matter how young.

"Does he think he's the only one who cares about Kagome?" He continued, as the thick woodland split away to reveal the small clearing where the well sat stoutly, protruding from the grassy ground like a sore thumb. "I loved her too, y'know! She was like my haha-uue*! Stupid Inuyasha's just a selfish baka…*"

Shippou perched on the edge of the deep well, dangling his legs in a bored manner.

"You're probably too lazy… ahem, _hurt_ to come up here and get the medicine yourself, Inuyasha you big baby. So I'll come down to you, kay?"

In the depths of darkness below, Shippou heard Inuyasha's squawk of surprise, and laughed smugly.

"Baka! You didn't think I'd just _leave_ you, did you? Well I have to admit, it was damned tempting…"

"Shippou! You little Gaki*!" Shippou hugged his knees and giggled, the jar wobbling about precariously on his little head. Yep, that was definitely Inuyasha alright. "Don't you dare come down here!" screamed Inuyasha.

Shippou frowned. He hadn't been expecting that.

"Why not, Inuyasha? Is something actually wrong?" he asked, letting a little fear creep into his voice. What if… what if there was something bad down there? What if Iuyasha was fighting it, and he actually _was_ injured? What if he really did need that ointment? Oh thank goodness he hadn't dropped it by accidentally-on-purposeness…

"Don't worry Inuyasha, I'll save you!" Shippou stood up heroically, readying himself to jump down with the medicine into the possible jaws of death…

"It's fine Shippou. Nothing's wrong." Inuyasha sounded tired now. Bored. "So you can fuck off."

"But you said…"

"Okay, okay, so I tricked you. I'm not actually hurt, and I don't need the lotion. Happy now? Go back to the village and leave me alone."

Shippou frowned again.

"Something's not right."

"Damned well it isn't! Why the hell you're still here, that's what's wrong in this place!"

Realisation hit the young fox pup in a painful surge, and he gasped.

"I… Inuyasha!"

"What now, Gaki?" Shippou sniffed as his eyes suddenly filled with tears that for once were very real, not induced for the sole sake of trying to get Inuyasha into trouble, and tried desperately to hold back a sob.

"Inuyasha, you horrible person! I bet Kagome's down there with you, isn't she! That's why you won't come out, that's why you don't want me to come down there! I… I can't believe you! You're so mean, not even letting me see my own haha-uue…" he let out another dejected sniffle.

"Inuyasha, I hate you!"

"Wait, no…"

And with that, Shippou dropped the jar of ointment on the grassy earth beside the well, and jumped down into the shadows.

//

Inuyasha groaned aloud as something small and fluffy hit him square between the shoulderblades. _Shippou. _

Hell, that little idiot… what was he thinking? To just go casually jumping down the well like that… had he no brain? What if Inuyasha hadn't been there, and the kit had landed on, say, a sharply filed rib bone?

Trust Shippou to not even think of his own weaknesses- which ranged from dodging sharp objects to stealth, speed, and pretty much everything else –and go dashing straight into danger. It was stupid, foolhardy, and exactly the sort of thing Inuyasha would have done.

With a sigh, he reached back to pluck the dazed kit from his landing pad of a back. Well, this _could_ be seen as a good thing, in the right light…

Because he'd just finished arguing with his bloody Aniki* about whether Inuyasha should go back to the village and get him some decent clothes, as no upper-class tai-friggin'-youkai* was gonna go wandering around as naked as the day he'd been born.

But, as Inuyasha had moved to make the leap out of the darkness of the well and into the waiting sunlight, Sesshoumaru had caught his arm in an immovable grip, and said two words Inuyasha had never thought to hear come from his cold brother's mouth.

"Don't go."

Inuyasha was still unsure if it was what had just passed between them that had made Sesshoumaru all clingy all of a sudden, or just the overpoweringly foul reek of the many dead youkai bones scattered thigh-deep across the floor of the Well, if anyone felt like being dumb enough to stick their leg in there. Just the smell alone was enough to keep most Youkai away from the Well, especially strong-nosed clans like the Inuyoukai.* He doubted it was comfortable being alone in a place like this even for a super-strong-and-twice-as-deadly-stick-up-the-ass-taiyoukai. Heck, it wasn't even comfortable for him, and he was only halfblooded.

But surely Sesshoumaru had stuck it out for however many hours he'd been curled up there before Inuyasha had come to his aide, so he could probably wait a few measly minutes whilst Inuyasha went and bargained (read: threatened) with some merchants back in the village for some nice silks to keep him decent with.

Right?

Right?

Apparentally- wrong.

Which led him to the question- why _was_ Sesshoumaru in the well? But that had already been asked earlier, and had led to some… interesting consequences. Like his Youkai drooling and putting suggestive images into his head that turned him on no matter how much he tried to deny it. Images of his aniki…

But his question had never been answered.

However, once again, it was not the time for that. Shippou's hazy eyes had just opened, and widened.

A lot.

Which is something, seeing as they were already half the size of his face. (A.N.- Chibi awesomeness forevers! You go, Shippou mah man!)

"I…I…I…Inuyasha?"

"Yes, Sh…sh…sh…Shippou?"

"Is that…?"

"S…s…s…s…Sesshoumaru? Yes."

"But… why is he here?"

"None of your b…b…b…business, nosy gaki."

"Okay, you can stop the stuttering now, Inuyasha."

"O…okay."

"Seriously, it's not funny anymore."

"I g…g…g…gotcha."

Shippou banged his head on the wall in frustration.

"Is he always like this to you?" Asked Sesshoumaru, sounding fascinated for probably the first time in many centuries.

"Sadly, yes," replied Shippou.

"Then you have my pity, small fox youkai."

"And you have mine. Being stuck in a small enclosed space with him…"

"Indeed."

By this time, Inuyasha was getting rather annoyed with the way the conversation was going. It was always so much more fun when they were insulting someone else…

"Okay, you can fuck off, brat," he told Shippou. Loudly. Repeatedly. It didn't work.

And then Shippou got onto the 'important' question.

"Um, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"Yes, fox?"

"Why are you not wearing any clothes?"

"…"

"Inuyasha?"

"… don't look at me. I already tried."

Shippou turned his face back to Sesshoumaru.

"Were you attacked?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"Did bandits steal your clothes?"

"No."

Shippou thumped a small fist into a only slightly larger little palm.

"I got it!"

Inuyasha looked up, suddenly interested. "What?"

"Inuyasha tried to check if you were male or not, didn't he! I mean, _I've_ always wondered and Inuyasha's the only one dumb enough to do that so…"

Shippou petered to a halt at the sudden tense atmosphere in the room.

"What? What's wrong, what did I say?"

Inuyasha turned to his brother, a small vein throbbing in his forehead.

"Do you wanna hit him, or shall I?"

Sesshoumaru waved a hand in the air, a regal prince's wave of acknowledgement.

"You may, otouto*. I fear if I did, there would be nothing left of your little kit."

"True."

The two laughed softly and gave each other small smiles over the top of Shippou's head, then realised what they were doing and quickly looked away.

"What?" squeaked Shippou nervously, dancing between them. "What happened?"

"This," explained Inuyasha, and socked him one. (A.N. – Inuyasha should be reported for child abuse. Tut tut.)

A large, bruisey bump appeared on the side of the little fox's head, and he yelped, rolling about on the floor clutching his head in his tiny hands and going-

"Itai*! Itai Itai Itai!"

"Shippou," explained Inuyasha patiently, crouching down beside the tumbling fox.

"Go away, meanie!" wailed Shippou, blinking back furious tears from his eyes. This was horrible! Inuyasha and his brother were bullying him, and Kagome wasn't even there to stop it!

"No, I've got a job for you."

"And why should I do it? I've already done you one favour today!"

"You knew as well as I did that I didn't need that ointment. Now go back to the village, and find Sesshoumaru some clothes. Please?"

Shippou pouted unflatteringly, sticking out his bottom lip as far as it would go, and turned away from Inuyasha, staring stubbornly at the wall.

"I still don't see why I should!"

Inuyasha let out a long breath of air, and decided to use last resorts.

"I'll give you some candy…"

Shippou still refused to look at him.

"Oh yeah? What flavour, you bully?"

Inuyasha grinned. This was familiar ground. If the kit was asking rather than flat out refusing, he might still have a chance with this, and he knew the fox's strange eating habits better than most.

"Strawberry, of course."

Shippou turned back to him then, biting his lip, obviously torn between having to exert more energy for Inuyasha's sake, and the promise of a sugar rush.

"How much?"

"As much as you can eat. Or rather, as much as Miroku can buy."

Shippou gave a slow nod. "Good enough for me. The faker's made of money."

"So, how about it? Unless you want me to change my mind and…"

Shippou was gone from the top of the well before Inuyasha could finish his sentence.

He smirked, crossing over to the wall to lean beside his brother. Sesshoumaru was watching him with careful eyes. But eventually even this considerably easygoing gaze got too much.

"What?" Snapped Inuyasha. "We're getting' you some clothes, kay?"

"It's nothing, murmured his brother with a slight frown. "It's just strangely… refreshing, to see you two like that. You're almost like a father and son."

Inuyasha blinked.

"Seriously? I mean, it's not like I'd know or anything. Our father died when I was born, remember?"

"How could I forget."

Inuyasha lapsed into silence. This was old, cold territory, something neither really wanted to breach. After all, from Sesshoumaru's perspective, it looked like Inuyasha had single-handedly been the cause of his father's murder, for the mere crime of being born to a human mother, and Inuyasha was pretty sure that was the main reason why his brother had once hated him so much.

_And still does,_ he reminded himself. _Just because he's actually talking to you doesn't mean he wants to get all friendly! Don't delude yourself, Inuyasha, there will never be any space in the Western Lord's life for a mere _Hanyou._ He wants your help now, that's the only reason why he's still hanging around. You'll see, as soon as he gets some decent clothing, he'll be off again, and we'll go back to trying to gut each other each time that we speak._

"I'm sorry," said Inuyasha suddenly, and found himself unable to meet his aniki's eyes as they turned, shocked, towards him. "I'm sorry, I know you blame me for what happened, and…"

"It wasn't your fault."

"What?"

Now it was Inuyasha who turned to Sesshoumaru with the look of surprise upon his face.

"What on Earth are you talking about? All this time, you've hated me, it was because of that, right? And that's a decent enough reason! Okay, so it's _not_ decent, because it wasn't my fault, but for you, it's okay! It's better than just hating me because I'm a filthy Hanyou… right?"

There was no answer.

"Right?"

Sesshoumaru kept quiet, and suddenly something like rage flared in Inuyasha's body.

"Bastard."

There was still no reply.

"You utter bastard. Are you seriously saying that all this time, all of that shit that you gave me, it really _was_ all because I'm half-ningen?*"

Nothing.

Inuyasha turned on his heel and prepared to jump out of the well, feeling his hands clench tight into fists by his side.

"I don't believe you," he whispered. His brother lay against the Well-wall, and shut his eyes, looking for all the world like a beautiful china doll. He didn't try to deny Inuyasha's claims, or, or anything, and in a way, that was even worse.

"This Sesshoumaru does not lie, Inuyasha," he said softly, and Inuyasha once again felt the strange sensation of his Youkai desperately reaching out to touch that scarily white perfect skin, to run a curious finger through that soft waterfall of silvery-blue hair.

He overrode it with all the pent-up anger from many years of his brother pushing him away, his brother calling him 'filthy Hanyou' with a sneer and pushing him face down in the dirt, his brother leaving him for dead in the middle of a demon infested wood as a child, his brother skewering him through the guts on his arm and watching with cold, passionless eyes as Inuyasha nearly died collapsed against him.

"You Bastard," he hissed again, and left.

This time, Sesshoumaru didn't try to stop him.

//

Half an hour later, and Shippou returned to the well, yawning widely, and carrying a bundle of clothing under one arm. He happily jumped into the darkness, aiming for the patch where Inuyasha had last been, and was plucked out of the air just before he was run through by a sticky-up bone by a pale, striped arm.

"Oh, hello Sesshoumaru-sama!" squeaked the little kit, hurriedly dropping his bundle at the Taiyoukai's feet and moving away, remembering the pain he'd suffered at Inuyasha's hands and how Sesshoumaru had threatened to do worse. "I bought you a haori* and hakamas,* just like you asked! Um… where's Inuyasha?"

Sesshoumaru didn't answer, instead leaning over to inspect the clothing, which was of a sturdy, if inexpensive material, and in a deep, sapphire-blue colouring. He gave a small nod of thanks to the little fox, who was sniffing about and trying to locate his surrogate father's scent on the wind, and failing miserably, what with his poor sense of smell and the fact that there _was_ no wind, what with them being fifteen-to-twenty feet underground.

"He left you?"

Sesshoumaru frowned, looking back to the kit from where he had been roughly pulling on the clothing, and gave another small nod. He looked… strangely nervous, realised Shippou. Had something happened?

He for one didn't have the guts to face up to the terrifying demon lord and ask.

"Come on, my lord," he said eventually, after Sesshoumaru had carefully tied the hakamas into place. "Let's go back to the village. We can wait for Inuyasha there."

Sesshoumaru nodded again, and Shippou tapped his finger to his chin, puzzled.

_How strange, _he thought. _He only seems to speak around Inuyasha or that little human girl of his. I wonder what they did to gain his trust?_

//

Sesshoumaru smelt it as soon as he easily leapt from the Well, the fox child hard on his heels.

_Katsuro. _(A.N.- see? I said he'd be back!) _This is not good._

"_Get out of here!"_ urged his Youkai furiously. _"Don't let him see you… don't let those hands touch you, never again! Katsuro is too much like Naraku for you ever to be safe around, leave the Kit and run!"_

For once, his Youkai was being the voice of reason. It was quite out of place.

But, he would have to defy it. He couldn't just leave Shippou to Katsuro's whims, he had seen what happened to anyone who got in the powerful eagle demons way before, be they man, woman, or child, warrior or farmer.

Katsuro was even more merciless than he himself, which made him someone weak youkai like Shippou should truly fear and never come into contact with.

"_You've never been so fond of a weak youkai before, Sesshoumaru. You just saying that because he's Inuyasha's little pet, and if he gets hurt, so does your Otouto. And admit it, you _enjoyed _that, back in the cave. Freak."_

_Oh be quiet!_

"_Bite me."_

"Um, Lord Sesshoumaru?" The Inu turned to the kit, exasperated. _Is 'um' the only word he can say?_

He turned to the fox.

"Is something the matter? I mean, you're standing awfully still, even for you!"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. _No, nothing's wrong. But you'd better go back to the village._ The kit remained where he was, blinking innocently up at him. Sesshoumaru sighed. It was easy to forget that not all children were as perceptive as Rin, who could easily read his slightest change of expression and interpret it perfectly into whatever he was trying to tell her.

But just as he opened his mouth to talk, to tell Shippou to hurry on ahead and get as far away from him as possible, a muscled arms wrapped tightly around his delicate frame, holding him so that he couldn't get away.

"Run, Shippou!" He yelled, recognising the smell, and Shippou took one look as his captor, and bolted. For a spiralling moment, Katsuro nearly released Sesshoumaru and ran after the young kit, but then he remembered what he had come for, and reasserted his grip on the helpless Taiyoukai. After all, for all Katsuro's insane strength, Sesshoumaru was by far the faster one. If Katsuro had let him go, it would've been an easy matter for the Taiyoukai to overtake him, grab Shippou, and leave the area, all before Katsuro had had time to blink in surprise.

"Looks like the spell didn't work then, my beauty," came a familiar hated voice. "You woke up all on your ownsome, did you? What a shame."

He leaned in, pressing his face and sharp nose into the smaller youkai's crown and inhaling deeply, then quickly pulling back, spluttering. "You stink of half-bred scum!" contrinued Katsuro conversationally from behind him, after a good minute of spitting and swearing at the 'foul stench' had passed. "We'll have to change that, won't we? My scent is much, much nicer, isn't it? Give me one night, Sesshoumaru, and I promise I'll get it _all over_ you."

Sesshoumaru didn't dare answer, not even to the foul creature's obvious goad. It would be his best bet to try and delay Katsuro long enough so that Shippou could get Inuyasha for him, rather than anger Katsuro so he just kidnapped him and flew away, or trying to fight him unarmed…

If Inuyasha had forgiven him.

Something ached within Sesshoumaru's chest at the thought of his brother hating him, something he didn't know how to describe. And so, he did what he was good at doing, and ignored it.

He just hoped that Shippou could run fast, and that Inuyasha cared enough about him to come.

The Bunyip's little corner of Japan!

Hanyou (半鬼) – Half Demon

Youkai (鬼 ) – Demon

Haha-uue (母 親 )- mother

Baka (痴 人) – Idiot

Gaki (餓 鬼 ) – Brat

Aniki (兄貴 ) – Big Brother

Taiyoukai (魔 王) – Demon Lord

Inuyoukai (犬 悪 魔) – Dog Demon

Otouto (弟) – Little Brother

Itai (痛い) – Ouch!

Ningen (人々) – Human

Haori (羽 織) – Thigh-length jacket-y thing, worn under Hakamas.

Hakamas (袴)– feudal era trouser type things.

Ofuda- (御 札) – Talisman

Kami (神) – God

Inu (犬 ) – Dog (well duh)

Gimme a yell if any of these are wrong, peeps!

**A.N. – okay, so there's the latest two chappies for you! Hope you've enjoyed them. Please review and all that, I need as much support as I can get!**

**And yes, I am evil for leaving it on a cliffhanger.**

**No, I don't care.**

**Next update shouldn't be too far away- I've got plenty of ideas in my head! But there may be one of my aforementioned M-raters comin' up, so keep your heads up, and if you're not interested in HARD yaoi, then don't read them! Kidokes? Yeah, I'm cool now.**


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